... but also delicious

I understand the concept of voting with your wallet, and I don’t believe it’s without merit.

But that doesn’t mean I have to boycott a product because some ignorant head honcho is imposing his views on his entire business.

So when Guido Barilla, the president of Barilla, says he doesn’t want homosexuals in his company’s advertisements, I’m able to peacefully disagree — and still go buy Barilla pasta.

Why? Because I like Barilla pasta, and because I don’t believe one person’s voice is representative of every single person who’s benefiting from my purchase.

Guido Barilla may not approve of my lifestyle, but I don’t need him to. He’s free to think as freely, and stupidly, as he wishes.

We might not agree on homosexuality, but we agree he makes a quality pasta.

The same goes for Dan Cathy, the president of Chick-fil-A, who publicly endorses the “biblical view” of traditional marriage.

Dan Cathy is behind the times when it comes to diversity and acceptance, but I’ll be damned if those nuggets aren’t the tastiest chicken pieces around.

When I buy a product from a corporation who’s leader looks violently out-of-date, I don’t feel as if I’m guilty of anything. I don’t feel as if I’m betraying anybody.

It’s my right to determine a product’s quality without considering the ideals of men who make no difference in my world.

I can be gay and still eat Barilla and Chick-fil-A.

Guido Barilla and Dan Cathy are the ones who have to look like idiots for the rest of their lives.

­— wdmcdona@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Dane McDonald on Twitter @W_DaneMcDonald